After The Snow by S. D. Crockett
Mar. 9th, 2012 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Dad gone.
Magda gone.
The others gone.
But I don’t know why.
Tell me, Dog – what am I gonna do?
Living in the haunting and barren landscape of a new ice age, fiteen-year-old Willo is a straggler kid who loses his family in the opening pages of this story. Completely alone, he is immediately flung into an icy journey of survival, adventure, friendship and self-discovery – with only the dog spirit inside his head to guide him.
It’s the near future and Britain’s in the grip of a new ice age. Long winters have created food and energy shortages. Economic power has shifted to the east - Russia and China now dominating international trade and effectively controlling Britain’s government. 15-year-old Willo’s family are stragglers who live a subsistence existence off-the-grid in the countryside. Lacking government papers, they rely on an intermediary called Geraint to sell their furs and leather to the cities and try to avoid the authorities and stealers who take what they want.
When the government captures Willo’s family while he’s out hunting, he’s convinced that Geraint is responsible. Advised by a spirit guide who lives in a dog skull that he wears, he sets out to confront Geraint and discover where his family have been taken. But when he finds 13-year-old Mary abandoned in an old shack, he ignores the dog’s advice to leave her and then everything starts to go wrong …
S. D. Crockett’s debut YA novel is an ice-age dystopia whose original voice makes up for a meandering plot.
Willo’s first person voice combines stylised language and grammar with imaginary conversations with his spirit guide. I liked his uncomplicated view on the world and how his survival instincts battle his caring nature. However, the voice’s less effective when the action moves to the city because I didn’t believe that Willo would be so naïve and trusting. The scenes where Willo remembers life with his dad and step-mother Magda give extra power to the final section of the book where he’s forced to question everything he thought he knew.
The scene setting’s also excellent, with Crockett’s sparse use of information working really well to give snippets that makes you want to know more.
However I didn’t believe in Willo and Mary’s relationship because there’s never enough there to engage with. The meagre plot developed too late to hold my attention and there are large sections where little happens, which in turns creates pacing problems. A key twist at the end of the book is telegraphed too early and doesn’t really go anywhere and the ending itself is downbeat and felt tacked on (albeit that it ties into one of the book’s central themes).
I’d definitely check out S. D. Crockett’s next book because her writing has such panache but I would hope for a more effective plot.
The Verdict:
S. D. Crockett’s debut YA novel is an ice-age dystopia with an original and stylised voice that just about makes up for a meandering and thin plot. I’d definitely check out her next book.
AFTER THE SNOW was released in the UK on 2nd February 2012. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
Magda gone.
The others gone.
But I don’t know why.
Tell me, Dog – what am I gonna do?
Living in the haunting and barren landscape of a new ice age, fiteen-year-old Willo is a straggler kid who loses his family in the opening pages of this story. Completely alone, he is immediately flung into an icy journey of survival, adventure, friendship and self-discovery – with only the dog spirit inside his head to guide him.
It’s the near future and Britain’s in the grip of a new ice age. Long winters have created food and energy shortages. Economic power has shifted to the east - Russia and China now dominating international trade and effectively controlling Britain’s government. 15-year-old Willo’s family are stragglers who live a subsistence existence off-the-grid in the countryside. Lacking government papers, they rely on an intermediary called Geraint to sell their furs and leather to the cities and try to avoid the authorities and stealers who take what they want.
When the government captures Willo’s family while he’s out hunting, he’s convinced that Geraint is responsible. Advised by a spirit guide who lives in a dog skull that he wears, he sets out to confront Geraint and discover where his family have been taken. But when he finds 13-year-old Mary abandoned in an old shack, he ignores the dog’s advice to leave her and then everything starts to go wrong …
S. D. Crockett’s debut YA novel is an ice-age dystopia whose original voice makes up for a meandering plot.
Willo’s first person voice combines stylised language and grammar with imaginary conversations with his spirit guide. I liked his uncomplicated view on the world and how his survival instincts battle his caring nature. However, the voice’s less effective when the action moves to the city because I didn’t believe that Willo would be so naïve and trusting. The scenes where Willo remembers life with his dad and step-mother Magda give extra power to the final section of the book where he’s forced to question everything he thought he knew.
The scene setting’s also excellent, with Crockett’s sparse use of information working really well to give snippets that makes you want to know more.
However I didn’t believe in Willo and Mary’s relationship because there’s never enough there to engage with. The meagre plot developed too late to hold my attention and there are large sections where little happens, which in turns creates pacing problems. A key twist at the end of the book is telegraphed too early and doesn’t really go anywhere and the ending itself is downbeat and felt tacked on (albeit that it ties into one of the book’s central themes).
I’d definitely check out S. D. Crockett’s next book because her writing has such panache but I would hope for a more effective plot.
The Verdict:
S. D. Crockett’s debut YA novel is an ice-age dystopia with an original and stylised voice that just about makes up for a meandering and thin plot. I’d definitely check out her next book.
AFTER THE SNOW was released in the UK on 2nd February 2012. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
